The College Years
by bellebrady
Summary: A Shelle fic where Belle begins her new life at college....what will the future hold for her??


The College Years  
  
It was a great day to be 18  
  
There had been a thunderstorm the evening before, with heavy drenching rains; that usually left the ground wet with dew. But this particular morning, the sun was shining, the sky was a perfect blue and everything appeared to sparkle.  
  
Or, thought Belle Black as she drove her mother's BMW quietly along Route 102, maybe it's just me  
  
The frantic city of Chicago, that Belle grew up in, was only about 50 miles from her destination Salem, Illinois, but with the picturesque scenery surrounding her; it seemed to be a world away. The BMW's radio blasted her mother's favorite show tunes from 'back in her day' as she would often say, and Belle happily muttered along with the music. She loved her mom, but she figured that she'd love her even more after today. You know how the saying goes absence makes the heart grow fonder.  
  
It was her first day of college, not just any college Salem University.  
  
"Watch Out, Belle" her mother shouted  
  
Belle casually moved the car around a car wreck on the side of the highway. With a frustrated sigh, Belle glanced over at her mom saying  
  
"I know how to drive, Mom"  
  
Dr. Marlena Evans relaxed a little saying "So do all the other people who get killed in car accidents!"  
  
Belle and her mother had had pleasant chatting all the way from Chicago to the point that they we're at now, about 10 minutes outside of Salem. Belle was beginning to wish that her mother would quit talking about all the great times she had as a child and through school, it would just make saying good-bye all the more hard.  
  
Salem U, as it was generally called, was by no means Ivy League..but it suited Belle quite nicely. It had rolling landscapes and outstanding facilities for a small university of which only about 10000 at the most attended.  
  
Though Belle had many friends throughout high school, Mimi Lockhart and Kirsten Michaels. Luckily for Belle, Kirsten had applied to Salem U too, and got in.so they we're going to be roommates along with 2 other girls that they would meet once they got there.  
  
"Making friends won't be a problem for you, honey" Dr. Evans said reading Belle's face as she ruffled her blond curls.  
  
"I know" Belle said sighing "but I can't help but be somewhat worried in both good ways and bad!"  
  
"I know that feeling" Marlena commented as Belle continued driving.  
  
Belle thought to the prospect of getting to know her father and brother while she was here. Her parents had separated when she was 5 and she never really got to see her father or much less her brother unless it was a holiday. The thing was, the John Black was a professor at Salem U, he taught Physics. Belle wasn't taking Physics, but she figured it would still present a good opportunity to get to know him. All this thought about her father made Belle think about her mother, she was all she had in Chicago.  
  
"Are you gonna miss me?" Belle asked curiously  
  
"Of course I'm going to miss you Belle! The phone won't be ringing off the hook anymore and I won't have friends of yours who I've never met before, staying over every other night! But your right, I going to miss you, but I've never been prouder of you in my life!"  
  
Belle smiled as she pulled the car around a corner and passed a sign that read 'Welcome To Salem, Ill. Est. 1722". All around her, Belle could see small pubs and inviting parks that neighborhood people were pushing baby- carriages through. She drove quietly down the main street of the town, while neither her or her mother said a word. She passed a small strip mall called 'Salem Place' and rounded another corner seeing another apparent teen-hangout site called Dot. Com. Unique Name, Belle thought as she continued driving up a steep hill, at the end of the main drag. As the BMW reached the crest of the hill she let out a small gasp as she saw it. There it was right in front of her, surrounded by wrought iron gates, her home for at least the next 4 years. She could see people mingling through the fence on the long sloping grasses, and other young couples holding hands as they entered into the university.  
  
"Mom, it's perfect!" Belle said  
  
"It's not like you haven't seen it before!" Marlena exclaimed  
  
"Yeah" Belle said quietly "but now it's mine!"  
  
  
  
TCY~ Chapter 2  
  
Lugging boxes wasn't exactly the way Belle had imagined her first few hours at Salem U, but what choice did she have, none of her roomies had arrived yet. 'It's just like mom to insist that we are out the door at 9, so that we're here by 10 and check in isn't until 2' Belle thought to herself. Between, suitcases, a TV and VCR, a computer, loads of books and one very large trunk Belle didn't think she'd need to exercise for a month! Her arms were throbbing with pain, once she finally put down a box containing a few books and her childhood favourite stuffed animal, on her bed. She had met a few cute guys while she was walking repeatedly up and down stairs, one guy was named Philip. He was a total heartthrob, she had always liked blond guys.  
  
Belle had also met the Kiriakis'. They were the family that owned and ran the university, they seemed very nice. The man's name was Victor and his wife's name was Nicole, Belle did notice though, that Nicole seemed awfully young for someone like Victor. Belle shrugged the thought off, as it popped back into her head again.  
  
Belle was staying in Room 245 in the Kingdowne Hall. The residence was obviously co-ed and there was a large common room situated right in the middle of it with all the rooms/apartments surrounding it.  
  
"I'm not sure it's a good idea that your so close to guys" Her mother commented as they walked through the common room and into the 4 bedroom apartment her and 3 other girls would share.  
  
"They don't bite" was Belle's casual reply "Besides, I'll let you know how everything goes in that department."  
  
She loved the apartment, it was so cute and cozy. There was a kitchenette set right to the immediate left once you entered the room, and a large bathroom that the girls would share on opposite sides. Then there was a narrow hallway and each side had two doors on it, leading to the 4 bedrooms. Belle, quickly glanced into all four bedroom suites and decided that she liked the 3rd one the best. She quickly began moving her stuff in , after all, she got there first so she should get her pick, right? There was a lovely floral pattern in her room, which made her distinctly decide that this apartment must be usually used by girls. Her room, overlooked the rolling campus and was a much more pleasant view than some of the other rooms. There was a desk in the right hand corner of the room, and she knew that would be where she would put her computer. There was also a twin bed, a large bookshelf and a nightstand, that all fit comfortably into the room.  
  
Shortly after, Belle was left with no other choice but to say goodbye to her mother, she knew that her roomates would be there soon and she didn't want their first impression of her to be when she was bawling her eyes out as she said goodbye to her mom. But bawl she did, it was the hardest goodbye she had ever had to say. By the time her mother walked out the door of the apartment, both were crying. Belle casually wiped away her tears and straightened up as she checked herself in her mirror and made a decision. She couldn't sit around forever wallowing in homesickness, she had to go out and meet people.  
  
She quickly reapplied some makeup and mascara, that had begun to run when she was making her emotional goodbye. She changed into a lavender tank top, put on a pair of beige capri's and a flowered headband (think look as Belle was leaving for Puerto Rico), and confidently strode out into the common room.  
  
There was plenty to see once she got there from people mercilessly trying to get a head start on the year by keeping their nose in a book, to people making out in corners of the room. Belle didn't really know what to do there, so she just looked around.she noticed that a lot of the guys we're looking at her flirtatiously. She gave a self-conscious glance down at herself, she never thought she had natural beauty, but everyone said she did. Just then someone came up and tapped her on the shoulder, she turned around to see..  
  
Preview for next few chapters:  
  
~ Belle meets her roomies  
  
~ Belle meets Shawn  
  
~ Belle gets to know Brady better  
  
~ Belle and her friends attend the welcoming dance  
  
  
  
TCY~ Chapter 3  
  
Belle casually turned around expecting to see her dad who had decided to come and find her when she didn't report to him after her first 5 minutes, instead she got a pleasant surprise.  
  
"Kir" Belle screamed as she gave her best friend a big hug.  
  
"Belle" Kirsten screamed back imitating her  
  
"Ahh, I'm so excited, Kir" Belle said happily "We get to be roomies!" It was then that Belle noticed the large box Kirsten was carrying.  
  
"Need some help with your stuff?" she asked  
  
"That would be nice" came Kirsten's sarcastic reply "I think my arms are gonna break"  
  
"No problem" Belle said "Are your parents still here?"  
  
"Yeah, They're downstairs chatting it up with some professor. My stuff's in the back of their car"  
  
"Alright, I'll go get some of it in a second, right now I want to give you a grand tour of our apartment! Eeee! I can't believe we have our own apartment"  
  
"Cool, let's see it" Kirsten said as she casually followed Belle into their apartment  
  
"Kitchen there, bathroom there, and your choice of 1 of 3 bedroom that are left down here" she said as she pointed out the key points of the apartment.  
  
"It's cozy isn't it?" Kirsten said skeptically  
  
"Yeah, but what did you expect a mansion.I don't think so!"  
  
Belle and Kirsten spent the next half and hour moving Kirsten in and starting to unpack her stuff. Kirsten then had to say good-bye to her parents, and it was almost as emotional as Belle and her mother's good-bye. Belle promised she would look out for Kirsten, and her parents said that comforted them a little. Once she had said good-bye to her mother, father and brother, Kyle, they headed back upstairs to their room.  
  
"So have you seen your dad yet?" Kirsten asked as she set up her stereo in her room.  
  
"No, not yet, I haven't seen Brady either.but somehow I don't think it will be difficult to spot him!"  
  
"I agree" Kirsten said laughing. She had only met Brady once and Belle's dad twice, so she didn't know them that well.well, neither did Belle really.  
  
"So" Belle said sighing happily once all their work was finished "now that we've got the apartment looking remotely livable, what do you want to do?"  
  
"I don't know, it's up to you" Kirsten stated  
  
"Well, I was thinking that I might go and see my dad, your welcome to come along if you want too"  
  
"Sure" Kirsten said as they linked arms and began walking towards the exit of the building, but in order to do that they had to walk through the guys section of the residence.  
  
Between the numerous screams of swear words and checking out all the cute guys that had they heads stuck outside of their doors, Belle only had time to look up to the sound of a "heads up" from a group of guys who we're playing football in the aisle, before she got pelted in the head. She staggered a bit as she tried to regain her footing, while rubbing the side of her head where the football hit.  
  
"Sorry" she heard from the left of her as she felt someone approach, and she looked up into the most dazzling pair of brown eyes she had ever seen.  
  
TCY ~ 4  
  
Between the numerous screams of swear words and checking out all the cute guys that had they heads stuck outside of their doors, Belle only had time to look up to the sound of a "heads up" from a group of guys who we're playing football in the aisle, before she got pelted in the head. She staggered a bit as she tried to regain her footing, while rubbing the side of her head where the football hit.  
  
"Sorry" she heard from the left of her as she felt someone approach, and she looked up into the most dazzling pair of brown eyes she had ever seen.  
  
"Umm.what? Don't worry about it" Belle vaguely heard herself mumble as she gave a lopsided grin to 'her football guy'.  
  
"Are you sure your okay?" he said softly to her as she gawked at him. "Oh look, your hair's all messed up" he stated as he gently patted her hair down. Belle loved the way his hand felt on her, so warm and comforting.  
  
"She'll survive" Kirsten interjected, making her presence known. As she tried to pull Belle away from him, but she wouldn't budge. "Come on, Belle" she said glaring at the football guy "we are going to be late"  
  
"Belle" the football guy stammered "what a beautiful name. I'm Shawn"  
  
"Thanks" Belle said as with one final tug, Kirsten finally pulled Belle in her direction.  
  
"Bye" Shawn called after them as they headed down the hall Kirsten whispering quickly to Belle "Guess I'll see you around"  
  
Shawn felt a hand on his shoulder as he turned around to see his buddy Philip Kiriakis, looking skeptically at him.  
  
"What?" Shawn asked faking innocence  
  
"You've got it bad man!" Philip stated  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"Kirsten, what the heck?" Belle said angrily to her  
  
"Belle" Kirsten said matter-of-factly "he hit you in the head with a football! What are you doing associating with him, let alone, falling all over him"  
  
"It was just a football, and I'm not hurt" she said her lips casually forming a smile "besides did you see how cute he was?? I mean DAMN!"  
  
"Yeah sure!" Kirsten said looking skeptically at Belle again "He's no Sam! Sam would never hit me in the head with a football!"  
  
"Yea, well at least you have someone! I'm left as the lone ranger again! It's about time I had someone, so don't jump all over me.if I look at a guy flirtatiously. There is no harm in that!"  
  
"Agreed" Kirsten said giving into Belle  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
The building that John Black resided in was a large Victorian style set of condominiums. The outside of the building had intricate designs complemented was hoops and swirls of various shades of paint. The most noticeable thing once you entered the building was a crystal chandelier hanging above the foyer. Belle quickly walked over to the telecom machine, to the left of the entrance way. She scanned the list of names with her finger until they landed on Room 176. Belle pushed the button to the right of the name activating the speaker in John Black's room.  
  
"Yes" Belle heard the familiar voice of her father say through the speaker  
  
Belle, in her best man's voice said "I have a package for a Mr. John Black"  
  
"Come on in" Belle heard her father say before a loud buzz rang out and she pushed open the security door to the condo. Belle was a little hurt that her father couldn't even recognize her voice when she disguised it, she blew the feeling off quickly.  
  
Kirsten and Belle quickly walked down the row of 170's, until they reached 176. Belle took a deep breath and rang the doorbell.  
  
John Black flung open the door, with an angry tense on his face. His tenseness loosened up when he saw his daughter.  
  
"IzzyB" John said giving her a big hug "I've missed you so much..so I guess your the messenger?"  
  
"Yeah" Belle said laughing with her father for the first time in years "It's good to see you, Dad"  
  
"Kirsten" John said turning to her friend "It's been a long time"  
  
"It sure has, Mr. Black" Kirsten said as she gave him a quick hug  
  
"Call me John" he said quickly "Well, come on in"  
  
Belle and Kirsten hurriedly moved out of the hallway and into Mr.Black's condo, the first thing Belle could think of saying was  
  
"Geez Dad, much cleaner than I expected"  
  
"I resent that" came John's fake shocked reply  
  
The girls settled down on John Black's couch, and were offered cups of tea. No later than five minutes after chatting, the doorbell rang yet again.  
  
John opened the door yet again, revealing the blond haired, blue eyed, brother of Belle's.Brady(tongue twister eh?).  
  
"Is she here ye---" was all Brady managed to get out before he saw Belle and grabbed her from where she was sitting, enveloping her in a big bear hug.  
  
"Umm.Brady" Belle said laughing as she tried to breath, while thinking to herself 'Wow, I have to make it through 4 more years, at least, of this! This is going to be very interesting...very interesting indeed!'  
  
TCY~~5  
  
"So" John said once Brady finally released Belle, who was heaving for air by the time he did, "How have your first few hours been?"  
  
"Pretty good" Belle said smiling "I love the university, and I love my apartment.and my roomies" She said as she slung her arm over Kirsten's shoulder "Well, I really only know one of my roomies, because the other 2 weren't there yet, when we left for your place. I guess, the one flaw was that some guy named Shawn hit me in the head with a football on the way out of the residence." Belle smiled slightly as she thought of him.  
  
"I'll kill him" Brady said instantly starting to his feet "Did he hurt you?"  
  
"No,no Brady" Belle said half-heartedly "I'm fine..just a little embarrassed, sit down!"  
  
Brady smiled sheepishly and sat down quickly.  
  
"So" John continued "Is this Shawn guy trying to put the moves on my little IzzyB?"  
  
Kirsten jumped in quickly "You could say that, you should have seen how these two were looking at each other. It was a challenge in itself, not to laugh."  
  
"So it's a mutual feeling" Brady said teasingly  
  
Belle's cheeks flushed red, and she didn't say anything  
  
"So what's this Shawn guy like?" John asked curiously "Other than a good football player, cause you know he has to pass our code for dating IzzyB, or he doesn't stand a chance"  
  
"We don't have a co-" Brady commented foolishly, but John interrupted him.  
  
"We do now!" he said between laughing "Brady, your such a dunce!"  
  
"Well" Belle said bringing the subject back to Shawn "He is adorably cute, I think he is a few years older than me though. He has brown hair and gorgeous brown eyes and ---"  
  
"Blue eyes are better" Brady interrupted defending his honor against this unknown perfect guy.  
  
"Anyway" Belle said laughing at Brady " He is really tall, probably about 6 feet and boy is he built!! I mean damn, he is just sooooo good looking"  
  
Kirsten rolled her eyes from where she was sitting  
  
"Hey" Brady said "I know a Shawn..maybe it's your dream guy" he commented "though I wouldn't believe it, my friend's a pig!"  
  
"Hmm" Belle thought "What residence is your friend in??"  
  
"Kingsdowne, what one are you in?" Brady replied  
  
Belle felt her hand come to her face covering her mouth "Maybe it is him!"  
  
"Well, then" Brady said standing up "It's about time you two were introduced! Dad, I'm gonna go back to Tink's residence with her.to search out her mystery guy!"  
  
"Alright" John said as he pulled some form of dinner out of his kitchen oven  
  
And with that Belle found herself being pulled from her dad's condo, all the way back to her residence  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Once they had entered Belle's residence, Brady immediately said  
  
"Alright, I'll go hunt out Mr. Possible Loverboy, and meet you at your room.what room are you in anyway?"  
  
"245" Belle replied  
  
"Alright, see you in a bit" and they branched off for different sides of the residence  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Kirsten and Belle quickly returned to their room, but were pleasantly surprised when they saw the door blocked by a mountain of suitcases.  
  
"Guess our roomies have arrived" Belle said to Kirsten as she smiled  
  
"Wonder what they're like?" Kirsten asked curiously  
  
"Well, there is only one way to find out!"  
  
Then the 2 girls walked around the pile of luggage and into their room  
  
"Hello!" Belle called out  
  
"Hi" called a pretty brown-haired girl as she came walking out of the first bedroom "I assume your my roomies!"  
  
"Yep" Kirsten said happily "I'm Kirsten and this is Belle" she said as she pointed at her.  
  
"Lisa Davidson" she said smiling back at them.  
  
"Is our other roomie here yet?" Belle asked Lisa  
  
"Yeah, I saw her a few minutes ago.but then she left to say good-bye to her parents. Her name's Brinny, and she seems nice"  
  
"Great-" Belle said but was interrupted by the sound of her brother's voice  
  
"Yo, Tink!" he yelled over the luggage pile and into her room "I found Mr. Loverboy"  
  
Belle took a deep breath and headed back towards the door.  
  
TCY~6  
  
"Ta Da" Brady said proudly as he waved his hand over Shawn "Am I good or what?"  
  
Belle felt herself smile foolishly as she recognized the person next to Brady. It was her football guy!  
  
"Yeah sure, Brady" she said vaguely  
  
"Shawn, meet my annoying little kid sister! Belle, this is Shawn!"  
  
Belle instantly shot Brady a look that could kill at his childish remark. He raised his hands as if to say he was innocent and slowly backed away.  
  
"Well, I'll let you two get aquatinted" Brady said as he bolted full-speed in the other direction  
  
"What was that about?" she heard a sweet voice say to her. She looked up to see Shawn, who obviously hadn't seen the looks they exchanged, glancing quizzically at her.  
  
"Nothing" Belle said waving it off  
  
"So" Shawn said as he noticed the awkward situation they were in as he shoved his hands in his jean pockets "How do you like the university?"  
  
"It's good!" Belle said happily "I think I'm gonna like it here"  
  
Shawn started laughing "Well, that's good! So have you had a tour of the campus yet?"  
  
"Yeah, my mom and I went on one of those guided tours to see the residences and stuff"  
  
"Oh!" Shawn said mischievously "So you haven't had the real tour"  
  
"What's that supposed to mean?"  
  
"You'll see m'lady" Shawn said as he offered her an arm, which Belle took gladly  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
They walked out of Kingsdowne and into the crisp, September air. As they walked they passed Brady, who was walking the opposite way.  
  
"Get your paws off my sis!!!" Brady roared at Shawn instantly  
  
Shawn quickly dropped Belle's arm instantly, while Belle shot Brady another even fiercer look.  
  
"I'm just taking her for the tour"  
  
"Oh" Brady said catching on "The tour, well then proceed"  
  
Shawn linked his arm with Belle's again as they moved passed Brady  
  
"Okay" she said stopping about 5 minutes later, after she had run through all the possible things that they could be up to "What are you two planning!!!?"  
  
"Don't worry your pretty little head" Shawn said quietly as he patted her head as he would a two year old "You'll see in due time"  
  
"FINE!" Belle said loudly as she sighed and they walked on  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"That's the campus club, and that's the exit to town and their is the campus shop and well I guess that's about it" Shawn said pointing at things finishing with a deep breath for air.  
  
"That's great" Belle said "But I've already seen this stuff before.I thought you were going to give me a tour I hadn't had before!"  
  
"Oops, sorry!" Shawn said casually, as they turned around and headed back towards Kingsdowne.  
  
"Sorry?!?" Belle stammered "that's all I get, come on!"  
  
"Yep, that's all you get!" Shawn replied as they walked  
  
They continued bickering for the next 5 minutes before they arrived back at Kingsdowne, and Shawn stopped them just outside the front door.  
  
"Wait here" Shawn said "I just have to go get something" and with that he disappeared into the building leaving Belle alone. No less than a minute later, did she hear a noise from above her. She looked up to see Brady, and what looked like his chums, all gathered on a balcony above her...armed with water balloons and silly string.  
  
"No, Brady! No you don't" she said as she attempted to move out of the way, but it was too late. Seconds later she found herself soaked and covered in the sticky goop. Brady was laughing his head off, as Belle's anger grew.  
  
"Brady you are so dead!" Belle yelled up at him, and as she brought her head back to it's normal level, she saw Shawn pointing and laughing from just inside the building.  
  
Instantly, her anger turned to sadness and she let the tears flow. Shawn didn't want to take her out because he liked her, he wanted to take her out, because he wanted to set her up for Brady's plan. He didn't like her. 


End file.
